Alien In The Dark
by Lorcain
Summary: When Daniel escapes the Kaernk, he finds a quarian in the back hall. He doesn't know what she is, and she just wants to get out. [Pic by SweetLittleKisses on deviantart, I only found it, it wasn't meant for me.]
1. Chapter 1

**I'll bet you didn't know this was originally going to be a Penumbra XO, but after realising making 90% of the mines made up (as I haven't played it) it just wouldn't make much sense.**

**As Youtube will agree, I've been playing Amnesia for a bit so I'd be able to go into more detail.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Alien In The Dark**

**Chapter 1**

_"Don't forget... some things mustn't be forgotten. The shadow hunting me... I must hurry. My name is Daniel, I live in London at... at... Mayfair... What have I done? This is crazy. Don't forget, don't forget. I must stop him. Focus! My name is... is... I am Daniel."_

Daniel rubbed his forehead wearily as he recalled the only words he remembered from his former self. Except the note telling him to murder Alexander, of course. He drew a fortifying breath, then lowered himself into the tunnel that the recently-opened trapdoor had revealed.

He eventually emerged from the tunnel and found himself in a corridor. He began to travese it, but the Shadow's roar made him squeeze his eyes shut and cowered briefly. He suddenly felt water filling up his shoes, and he nearly yelped as he opened his eyes to see the entire corridor flooded with water.

He began to trot down the hallway, but he heard splashes. They wern't his. Something was splashing in front of him, coming for him! He ran as fast as he could through the water and climbed onto a crate. The creature made it's way over to him and growled menacingly.

He rubbed his face. This was not fair. It was also going to take awhile.

* * *

Lana'Ven nar Tonbay sat up. Where was she? The last thing she remembered was being pulled into some kind of singularity. At first she had assumed a biotic was screwing with her, but now...

She looked around. She definately was not on Omega. That was probably a good thing, but she couldn't decide if this place was any better. The floor...no the entire room was made from stone bricks. Noone builds with stone anymore – was this some kind of historical building? She stood, looking all around her. The doors were made from wood! Wood! She noticed a rather disturbing fountain behind her. It's head was that of an infant, it looked like an asari or human. Come to think of it, it even looked quarian, which was unsettling, it just needed facial markings and – no. She mentally slapped herself. Crossed legs from the base made it look as if someone had fallen asleep and drowned. She took a step back – this gothic decoration and architecture was too creepy for her taste. Under the staircase, there was a wooden chair with a large candlestick. Was it a "brazier"? She couldn't remember. Almost behind the chair was a small wooden chest. She checked left and right before opening it – surprisingly unlocked.

Inside was a jar of black liquid and a small metal cylinder. She examined the jar in the candlelight, but the liquid stayed black. She carefully placed the jar back inside it's chest and closed it. She wandered back over to where she awoke, and nearly brought her hand to her face as she realised there were three exits – one down to the basement(which did not look inviting at all), one to a room with a few large statues in it , and one leading downwards.

Deciding she didn't want to go down, she went left to the statue room. On the opposite end of the room, there was some kind of lift that didn't look safe at all. There were actually two statues in this room, both huge, and of some kind of animal. As she studied the statues, she heard a door slam shut in the hall, and someone running, and then it seemed like the entire castle shook violently as an angry growl sounded...everywhere.

On instinct she crouched in front of the statue while she waited for the rumbling to stop. It receded after a while, so she curiously, and quietly, walked into the large hall.

There was a man there – a human, wearing strange archaic clothing. Some kind of actor? Was that rumbling just sound effects? He looked disheveled and panicked, staring at the basement entrance, which on closer inspection, some kind of thick red web covered. She creeped a little closer to him.

"Um, excuse me? I think I'm lost." she said quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Apologies for the line breaks - I couldn't help but offer Daniel's opinion at that time ^^;**

**If you've played Penumbra: Black Plague, remember the "Holy shit it's got a torch!" moment. Bet you can't wait for it to happen to poor old Daniel? **

**Also, Lana doesn't have a kinetic shield, she's rather poor and didn't plan on getting in any fights anytime soon.**

**Sorry about being so late with this - RL caught up ;_;**

_**Chapter 2**_

Daniel's heart nearly leapt from his chest when he heard someone's voice. He whipped his head in the direction it came from. Standing in the doorway of the room to his left stood…something. He really did not know what to call it – perhaps the best comparison was a moving, living statue. It was mostly made of a black material, but wore white cloth around it's head, like a hood that covered it's shoulders as well as it's head, and around it's midsection secured by a belt. The borders of the cloth were a royal blue colour. Various bits and pieces were coloured white as well. Its shape was female, and her hips were very broad, but her most distinctive feature was a lack of a face, replaced with an almost opaque yellow glass that reminded him of the orb.

He didn't get a better look at her or it, because after seeing it, he gasped and turned in the opposite direction, running as fast as he could an accomplishment he was proud of due to his fatigue and his drenched shoes.

What was that thing? It looked too clean to be one of Alexander's monstrous creations. Perhaps it was an embodiment of the Shadow? A peculiar illusion to get him to slow down while it catches up with him? Or an element of his growing insanity? Ignoring these thoughts for a moment, he pulled the nearest door open, ran though and slammed it shut. He heard the creature shout "Hey!" in protest, before she pulled it open and ran after him. His eyes widened in horror and he sprinted down the rest of the steps and through the door at the bottom, glancing at the bronze sign that read "Storage" in German.

"_This place is unnaturally dark". _He noted as he ran through the corridor and into a larger room. Thinking quickly, he ran to his left and found a room engulfed in darkness. There were shelves grouped together, and so he hid behind them, thankful a few boxes blocked sight of the doorway. He sat there, holding his legs close to his chest, closing his eyes and not making a sound.

* * *

The man had acted oddly. He had gasped in shock and run off to the basement. She had given chase, but he slammed the door in her face. She chased him again, but lost him in the darkness. She found herself in a large-ish room with some kind of counter in the middle of the room, a few candles light for all the good they did. It was nearly pitch-black. She brought up her omni-tool and selected the "flashlight" option.

* * *

Daniel's eyes widened in terror. It made an orange light that had come from nothing! What was this!? Some kind of magic?

* * *

"Hello?" Lana called out experimentally. "Um, sir? I just want to talk, I'm kind of lost."

Nothing. Right – the hard way. She looked around the room, swinging her light around. There were three exits to this room, straight ahead, down a corridor, but it was likely the man had hidden himself nearby. The room to her right was large, and filled with barrels and giant kegs. To her left was a smaller room, filled with boxes, shelves, barrels, tools and other clutter. She decided to start there, then search the barrel room as it was larger. Entering the small room, she began to scan the room with her light. The shadows played around the walls, but she couldn't see him. As she was about to leave, she heard a noise and saw a box move – he was there!

"Ah! There you are!" she cooed as if he were a child she was trying not to scare. "Look, I just want to -" the man yelled in terror and threw the box at her, hitting her on the shoulder and nearly knocking her over. He saw this and took his chance by running to the barrel room. "Oh, Keelah, stop it!" she yelled as she ran after him. He was fast, but she managed to catch up when he ran into a dead-end.

"Stop being so ridiculous!" she snapped as she tried to grab him, only for him to hit her on the head with his lantern. It didn't really hurt her, because of her helmet, but she was getting very ticked off. In her confusion, he took his chance and ran off again. This was getting frustrating. All she wanted to know where she was, but he kept running as if she were going to murder him or something. Was he on red sand? A roleplayer taking his part a little too seriously? Whatever it was, she wanted to know, and probably hit him for being annoying. She chased him into one of the many side rooms, slammed the door shut behind her and cornered him.

"Right you little..." she started, walking towards him, and he cowered. "Oh, stand up, I can't talk to you like that." she huffed. He rose cautiously, eyes darting around as if he couldn't decide to make eye contact or not. He reminded her of a baby pyjak. "Look. Can you stop fooling around for a bit? I'm lost." He wore a look on his face that was a mix of bewilderment and fear. She sighed and edged a little closer. "Who are you?"

"Daniel. My name is Daniel." he said quietly. Finally!

"Right then, Daniel, where am I?" she demanded, staring him down. He looked at her as if she were about to eat him.

"Brennenburg Castle. It-it's in Prussia." Prussia?

"I've never heard of Prussia, sorry, what system are we in?"

"System? What do you mean?"

"You know, like Sol or Widow?" He looked very confused. She sighed. Like drawing blood from a rock.

"Okay, what about cluster? Like Hades Gamma and Hawking Eta?"

"What?" She brought her hand to her visor.

"Okay. We are on the planet Prussia, which is in...?" she asked, as if talking to a child.

"What? Prussia's not a planet, it's a country!" Oh, finally!

"Great. What planet are we on?"

"Planet? Earth of course."

"Ah, I see. I've never heard of Prussia. Like I said, I'm kind of lost." An awkward silence decided to make an appearance before Daniel blurted out:

"Sorry, but what _are_ you?" he said, this time with more fascination that fear, but he was still cautious. She frowned, though it was unseen to him.

"What do you mean? I like computers and stuff, so I suppose I'm an engineer."

"I didn't mean..." he looked confused. "I mean, I'm a man-"

"I'm a woman!" she hissed. "Did this not tip you off?" she asked, turning her body to side and back again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!" he apologised quickly. "I mean, I'm a _human_, so.." she frowned again. After a pause, she asked:

"What year is it on Earth?" He looked baffled.

"1839." She looked away from him.

"How..?" she mumbled. She finally met his eyes again. "Where I'm from," she spoke quietly, "It's 2186 on Earth."

"What!?" he exclaimed. "That's like... three hundred years in the future! You're from the future?"

She nodded. "I suppose so. Keelah, this is getting like a bad movie."

"Keelah? What's that?" he asked, confused once again.

"It's Kellish, my language. Its rough translation to English is: "By the Homeworld I hope to see one day."

"Homeworld?"

"Yes, I'm not human. I'm a quarian, my homeworld is called Rannoch."

Daniel gulped and tried to process this ton of information.


	3. Chapter 3

**Goddammit. Why do I keep forgetting this? D:**

**Alien In The Dark**

**Chapter 3**

A creature from another world? Like Alexander? She did not seem malevelont. Although, neither did Alexander. After an awkward silence, Daniel spoke.

"Your world," he began slowly, as if to somehow make it seem less of a shock, "What is it like? How is it differant from ours? She immiediatly stiffened then slouched into a sad pose.

"I, I-" her head lowered again. "I only know what has been passed down from generations, and pictures. It's dry, but the rock formations are beautiful." she managed.

"What is the matter?" asked Daniel, as even in the dim light of the orange light-gauntlet he could see she looked unhappy.

"Our homeworld was lost." His eyes widened in shock. How could an entire race lose their world? "We were driven from our world by our own creations, the geth." she said, spitting out the word "Geth"

"What are the geth?"

"We built the geth to serve us. They were a hyper-advanced machine race. Yes, we created machines that could walk, talk, and think like us. They were supposed to serve us without becoming intelligent. But, we tried to make them cleverer and cleverer, and they became sentient. And then... our ancestors were scared, so they tried to shut them off, only the geth resisted. They won the resulting war..." Daniel was in a sympathetic awe. The combination of such a sad story, a sad true story even, the wonders of the future, and even her accent rendered him speechless.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"That's okay, Daniel." she said, collecting herself. "I don't think I told you my name. It's Lana'Ven nar Tonbay." she laughed a little upon seeing his confused face. " "Lana" is my first name, my personal name. "Ven" is my family name. "Nar" means I have not finished my pilgrimage and "Tonbay" is the name of the ship I was born on."

"You were born on a boat?" she giggled.

"No, no. In my time, we have vehicles that let us travel through space. We just call them ships." At this point Daniel was slightly less surprised, though it was still amazing. "After the war, what was left of us made a big flotilla. Us and our ancestors have lived on them since then."

_"This is all well and good, but you need to get a move on." _Said a voice in Daniel's head.

"As much as I would love to hear about your fascinating time, I really must carry on, I'm sorry." he said sincerely.

"Oh. What's going on?"

"I'm trying to find out. I lost my memory, I just woke up. I found a note written by my former self telling me to kill a man. And there are...beasts after me."

She regarded him for a moment. He might be crazy, but Lana was rather curious. "Can I help?"

"Oh, well.." he began to stutter. "Yes, I suppose so, if you really want to, but this castle is dangerous."

"I'll be fine." she grinned. "What do we need to do?"

"I'm not sure, I just got here when you gave me a fright." he chuckled weakly. "We should explore this place, and see if we can find anything for later. I'm sure some kind of problem will arise."

"I see. Let's get moving then, shall we?" she said gesturing towards the door.

"Yes, let's." he agreed. She opened the door and strode out into the big room, Daniel close behind.

They explored the area for a while, Daniel had found one of Alexander's notes about two chemicals that would explode when mixed, and Lana had put together a carpenter's drill from seperated pieces. They went straight back to the large vats, and Lana drilled through the wooden wall while Daniel collected the liquid in his chemical container. They repeated this with the second vat, and Daniel steadily brought it to the cave-in he found earlier. Placing the volatile mix at the base of the blockage, they both retreated to the stairs.

"How do we make it go off?" asked Lana after a pause. Daniel hummed. He looked around and picked up a small rock. He gestured for Lana to stand back, and feeling like a hero, he bravely lobbed the rock at the container.

It missed. He went to retrieve his rock, but then Lana gestured for him to stand back. She tapped her arm, and that orange..._magic thing _appeared and she pointed her arm at the jar. She pressed it again, and a section of it turned red, which she touched, and it let loose a ball of fire that zoomed towards the jar. The resulting explosion nearly knocked him off his feet, and he was suddenly granted the mental image of Alexander, writing, when the explosion shook the walls and Alexander looking very confused.

"Hooray! Let's go, I'm sick of this basement." she declared, and marched on ahead. Daniel jogged after her.

"What in God's name was that?" he asked, which he thought was rather deserved.

"Ha, you mean my Incinirate? It's a combat function my Omni-tool has." she said, bringing the orange light up once more. She saw his confusion in the dim light again and laughed. "It's a device that can do lots of things. I think "Omni" comes from an old human language. It doesn't go through my translator properly."

"Latin." said Daniel, blinking. "It's Latin for "every"."

"There you go then."

They emerged from the corridor into a large room with three doors. A sob emanated from the middle door.

Lana and Daniel exchanged glances, and Lana walked up to it.

"Don't.." cautioned Daniel. "I have a bad feeling about this." she waved him off.

"You're being silly." she said, and opened.

The noise that came then was a horrifying growl Daniel thought could only be made by some kind of demon, and Lana gave a short scream and slammed the door shut.

"Oh _keelah_! What the hell was that!" CRUNCH. Lana was thrown face first into the dirt floor. CRUNCH.

"Dear God, run!" cried Daniel, and flitted between leaving, and helping Lana to her feet. He helped her up, and she shot off like an arrow.


End file.
